


The Night We Met

by NinaOnTheInternet



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: A - Freeform, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Romance, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Eventual Smut, F/F, Masquerade Ball, Mentioned Becca Gilroy, Minor Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke, Slow Burn, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:42:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29918463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinaOnTheInternet/pseuds/NinaOnTheInternet
Summary: Toni Shalifoe is a 22 years old college student, whose life has not always been simple. She had to face many battles but now her life was finally easy. Until the night she met her biggest adventure. A mysterious girl came into her world, making Toni feel things she's never felt before. And now Toni only whished to spend her days with her. There was only one problem: she didn't know the girl's identity. But she absolutely had to find it out. Little did Toni know that the person she was looking for was right in front of her.And Shelby? Well Shelby had just moved into town, leaving a rough reality behind her. She was finally free and wanted nothing more than a fresh start. However , that same night, her heart was stolen by a girl, whose name she didn't know. She craved her name more than anything, until she knew it and her world completely changed.OrToni and Shelby fall in love at a masquerade ball, but it will take some time for them to find out.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 11
Kudos: 135





	1. Nothing Compares

It was the 31st of October, the stars were shining in the sky, the air started to be chilly and everybody was getting ready for the great event of the night, well everyone except Toni. Toni was not the type of person for this kind of thing. It’s not that she didn’t like to party: she loved to party between beers and cheap stolen liquors with her friends, while living the most authentic moments of her life. That was Toni’s style. But she felt out of her comfort zone when surrounded by too many glasses of champagne and definitely too many elegant people. She really had no problems with rich people, Toni just hated how the majority of them seemed to always act their parts rather than living their life, she hated fakeness.

For this reason, when her friends told her they were going to the campus official masquerade ball and asked her to come, she said “no”.

Toni was indeed at home, watching ‘how i met your mother’ with a fat beer in her left hand and her phone in the other, when Martha called her. She answered straightaway:

“Hey Marty”

“You gotta be kidding me Toni! You told me you would come! I didn’t waste two entire weeks trying to convince you for nothing didn’t I?!”

“I’m sorry Marty, but you know how much I don't love the things this campus sets up. I told you I would come...but then my ass collapsed on the sofa and I forgot about it” That was not entirely a lie, she forgot about it. But then she remembered and decided to forget about it again...and Martha knew it.

“Cut the bullshit you have to come! You promised.” Martha said with an angry but pleading tone.

“I know I know; it’s just that I’m very tired. Today coach destroyed my muscles with all the training” Toni told her while yawning.

“C’mon Toni, me, Fatin and the others are all going, You know i wanted us to go all together, I really meant it.” And in fact she did: Last year Martha won a scholarship to study in France, and two weeks ago she finally came back. This party was also a reunion celebration of some sort for her.

Honestly Toni underestimated how much Martha really cared about this party,so -given the circumstances- she would go if it meant making her best friend feel at home again. “Ok Marty, I’ll come. But only because it’s for you....and also because we haven’t had drinks together for too long”

“Yes Toni, we’ll have a great time I promise!” Martha was cheering on the other side of the phone.

“I just need a favor” Toni said while getting up from her couch and going to her room.

“Anything, my dearest Toni” Her friend answered jokingly.

“Yeah but don’t talk like we are in a cheap-19th century-set soap opera. Anyway can you come and help me figure out what to wear? I only have jeans” The girl said with a smile on her face

.

”C’mon i know you love “Pride and Prejudice”, so don’t act like the tough one with me. Anyhow, I’m coming over!"

“Whatever, but “Pride and Prejudice” is not a soap-opera. Jeez Marty” She answered and Martha sent a kiss and ended the call.

Toni really hoped the night would go well.

____________________

An hour later she was finally ready to go. She looked at herself in the mirror and to be honest with herself, she looked kinda hot she thought. She was wearing her finest pair of black jeans (Martha chose them because she said Toni’s ass was fantastic in them) and a long-sleeved lace top on it, that for whatever reason she bought last year and never once wore. Martha found it at the bottom of her closet, under piles of jerseys, and immediately asked Toni to wear it. And Toni did because, well, fuck it she was hot in it. She even let her friend do her makeup, just for this occasion, just to make her happy.

They were almost out of the apartament when Martha rimebered to give Toni a mask she actually bought for her, for the party. It was simple and mostly black, with some kind of ornament on it, so Toni made an effort and put it on. “How do I look?” she asked her bestie.

“Honestly? You look amazing Toni. I don’t know why but you seem so different dressed up this way” Martha told her with so much excitement.

“In a good way or bad way?”

“Totally a good one.”

They met up with the rest of their friends in the parking lot, before entering the structure.

“I can’t believe they rented a whole fucking villa for one night. Only to let people get drunk” Dot told them while finishing her sigarette

“Yeah like, it’s even better than last year” Nora said

“The only thing I remember about last year is your puke all over my dress, Nora” Rachel scoffed

“Alright, now let’s go I’m so down for drinks and hot guys tonight!” Fatin exclaimed

“ You won’t even see their faces properly man, how the fuck will you tell if they are hot or not?”said Toni

“Who told you I wanna see their face? I don’t care about who they are, i wanna know how they feel” Fatin answered her with too much seriousness to actually be serious (something Fatin never was)

“What a fucking poet!” Dot joked and they all laughed. It was always hilarious when Fatin came up with some funny bullshit and then some of them always roasted her. However later that night, Toni would find out that what Fatin said was really true.

They entered the building together, all dressed up like fucking rich people, because yeah, they attended a campus for fucking rich people- if that was even a thing- and Toni mostly hated it. When she accepted the scholarship to Brandi University, she knew it was really expensive and without a scholarship, only people with a lot of money could go there. However, she didn’t expect it to be full of judgy people who cared more about their looks than their actual souls (if they had one).Fortunately her friends weren’t like that, they all had their demons and together they learned to be better people. Toni was fucking proud of that.

She remained behind her friends, near the entrance, to say hi to one of her teammates, when she heard someone on the outside yell:

“You know what, do whatever the fuck you want I’m done chasing you!”

Then a feminine voice yelled “Just fuck off Andrew!”

Toni was almost at the entrance to see if everything was ok when someone entered and bumped into her. This dude, already drunk, glared at her. “Watch where you go bitch” he said. He must have been the one yelling outside. The urge to punch him was strong, but Toni knew better now, she wasn’t seventeen anymore , so she let him go and decided to rejoin her friends, forgetting about going outside to see who the other voice belonged to.

As the night progressed, Toni had to admit: to be something organised by her “elitary” campus, it turns out this masquerade party was not that bad. Maybe it was because everyone had a mask, so she didn’t have to actually see the faces of some of these rich white people who always judged her with their looks.Or maybe it was the fact that she really missed spending time with Martha like this, with all her friends.

They were near the bar talking and drinking, all of them at least tipsy by then. They made a bet on who would be faster at downing three shots of tequila salt and lemon. Who won would decide what the others would have to do. At the end Fatin won and all of them started to laugh and cheer.

Toni was laughing with her friends when she saw _her_. It was like time stopped.She was on the dance floor, dancing with her friend, moving to the beat, with her hands in the air, smiling the most beautiful smile Toni has ever seen. The brunette couldn’t stop looking at her. Her face was covered by a gold and black mask, but Toni already knew she was breathtaking. And then, she looked up, saw Toni and their eyes met for the first time. In the crowd, between all those bodies, she could only see _her_ and her beautiful eyes.

Toni was so distracted, she didn’t even realize Fatin was calling her: ” Toni what the fuck?”

“Yeah what?” Toni then looked at her friend, still dazed.

Fatin looked in the same direction the brunette was looking and understood everything. “Oh nevermind, I know what to do” she said and dragged her friend to the dance floor.

“Fatin what are you doing? I don't wanna dance!” Toni complained, but Fatin didn’t listen to her and kept dancing. The dj put good music on and she started to loosen up and dance too. Toni was so caught up in the moment she didn’t even realize she was in front of her. She was still dancing, and Toni noticed how the golden ornaments of her mask reflected her golden hair. However, the brunette frooze , she didn’t know what to do. Fatin winked at her and rejoined their friends.

She was about to turn away, when this girl looked at her and they made eye contact for the second time. Toni didn’t know what took over her, but she started moving towards the blonde, not having a clue on what she was doing. She approached her, and when they were close the girl spoke first:

“I saw you looking before”

“I saw you looking too” Toni answered

“Wanna dance?” The girl asked.

Now they were very close and Toni forgot how to talk, so, instead of answering, she started moving to the beat of “Nothing Compares” by The Weekend with her. They were dancing slowly, but God the way this girl was swaying her hips made Toni weak in the knees. The blonde laced her hands around the brunette’s neck while Toni’s went on her waist, to hold her even closer. They continued to keep eye contact and moved their bodies together. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green and she was looking at Toni with such an intensity, that the brunette couldn’t help but slowly reduce the distance between their lips. She didn’t kiss her though, and they continued to sway to the rhythm of the song.

And then, the girl closed the gap and kissed her. It was something simple, just lips on lips, moving slowly with each other, but it felt like breathing for the first time. Toni felt so many things, she couldn’t even describe it. The way they were moving with each other, the way this girl was kissing her, with passion and daintiness, the way the song’s beat seemed to capture so perfectly this moment: it was too much, and yet, Toni wanted more. So she deepened their kiss, hands desperately gripping at each other and nothing had ever felt better than this.

The song came to an end, but their kiss not: they continued to kiss,kiss and kiss, until they were out of breath. When they parted Toni looked at her and she was speechless. This girl was so fucking beautiful. They stared at each other almost in disbelief for a moment, and then Toni raised her hand to the girl’s face to remove her mask. She wanted to see her in all her beauty. But the blonde stopped her and spoke:

“Let’s play a game”

“What game?” Toni asked, still out of breath.

The girl didn’t answer, instead took Toni’s hand and led her to the bar “How about a drink?” she asked.

“Why not” Toni said. She would do whatever this girl wanted to do.

They grabbed their drinks and went upstairs, Toni followed the girl until they were on the rooftop of the structure. The only light source was given by the moon and the city lights underneath them. Toni didn’t know if it was more beautiful the view she had in front of her, or the one next to her, so she spoke: “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking I loved dancing with you” She answered after a beat, looking at Toni.

“Me too.”

They stayed in silence for a while, just watching the skyline, just enjoying being with each other. The streets were full of cars and people. “Isn’t it beautiful? To watch everything move and happen without being directly part of it?” The girl said, looking at the view before them.

“Yeah, it gives you a sense of peace” Toni said, and then took a sip of her drink.

“You ever think about running away?” She questioned

“Like where?” The brunette said

“Anywhere you want” The girl told her.

Toni looked at her, she was smiling just a bit, her eyes so big and full of adventure, the moonlight shining on her hair. Toni never liked adventures, she preferred simple things, but she would go anywhere with this girl.

“Wanna go now?”

“Okay” The blonde almost whispered and looked at Toni with so much excitement.

The brunette took her hand, they went downstairs again and exited the building. Toni’s car was off-limits, she wasn’t drunk but she was a bit tipsy, so they started to walk, almost running towards the streets, the same they watched before from the roof. Now all the lights, all the cars, all the sounds were not part of a beautiful skyline, now they were happening all around them. People looked at them strangely, probably thinking ‘who the fuck goes out that much dressed up and with a mask on their face?’ But Toni didn’t care, they both didn’t. With more light than before, she could now see how good that dress fitted the girl. Toni has never seen someone more beautiful than her. She had zero clue on what was happening, yet she didn’t want to be anywhere else, with anyone else.

They went everywhere they could go, in every street they saw from the rooftop, smiling and laughing all the time. In that moment, they too were part of a beautiful skyline someone was watching from afar. Toni literally left all behind to run away with a stranger. Was she crazy? Probably. But she couldn’t bring herself to care, being with this girl felt like everything she had ever wanted.

The two of them found a park and decided to enter, still hand in hand. “Can we sit for a bit? These heels are killing me” The girl said. Toni pointed to a bench under a tree and they seated there. The sky was clear that night and they stayed there, watching the shining stars above them.

“Can I know your name?” Toni asked.

“You really want to?” The girl questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“If we tell each other who we are, if we take off these masks, then we won’t remember this night in the same way as now. Reality crashes every good memory, don’t you think?”

“I guess you’re right.” Toni said “But I think I will never forget tonight” she continued.

“Neither will i” The blonde told her, looking at her with those beautiful eyes, and then she kissed her again.Just like the first time, it was perfect. The girl tasted of strawberry, like the vodka she was sipping before, and Toni loved it. They kissed slowly, their lips and tongues dancing with each other.

It seemed only a minute had passed when Toni's phone started to ring. They finished the kiss and she answered the phone.

“What’s up?” She said a bit annoyed by the interruption, a bit out of breath.

“Toni where are you? Move your ass here if you want a ride home” Rachel said, she was the only one of them who didn’t drink. “What? Already? What time is it?” “It’s two in the morning, Jeez Toni, we’re supposed to have lessons tomorrow. Hurry up.” And she ended the call.

How the fuck did time move so fast? She wanted to spend so much more hours with this girl.

“We should probably go” The blonde told her.

“Yeah i know.” They started to walk back, but Toni stopped her and said: “Can I at least have something to remember you by?”

The girl seemed to think about it, but then she gave Toni the bracelet she had on her wrist. It was simple: just a black thread with a green pendant. Yeah simple but so beautiful. Toni accepted it hesitantly.

“So you’ll think of me?” The blonde asked, smiling.

"Always.”

They returned to the entrance of the local, almost everyone already gone, and now they had to part ways, but they remained there. Neither of them was able to walk away. Toni sighed “I don’t want to see you leave” she told her.

The blonde was watching her attentively through her mask, as if she was thinking about something. She put her delicate hands on the brunette’s shoulders “Close your eyes and count to ten. When you’ll open them I won't be here. This way you won’t see me walk away” she whispered softly.

And so Toni kissed her for the last time, closed her eyes and started to count slowly. When she opened them the girl was gone. She remained for a minute frozen there, trying to process everything. She couldn’t believe what happened. It felt so surreal she was afraid it was all just a dream. But then, she saw the bracelet on her wrist and she knew that nothing had ever felt more authentic than this.

________________________

Toni woke up to the sound of her alarm. She immediately turned it off and all of the memories of the night before came like a river flooding her brain.The mysterious girl was all Toni could think about.

She also realized she completely disappeared last night without explaining anything to her friends, so she sent a few texts and called Martha to apologize. After all she was the reason why she went to that party to begin with. But Martha reassured her, saying that Fatin explained everything to her, then she told Toni to meet her up at the cafeteria, just like every morning.

Toni met with her friends an hour later, all of them looking at her suggestively like they already knew everything.

“How was last night?” Fatin asked ironically, wiggling her eyebrows

. “Shut up,” Toni said, her eyes wandering through the campus cafeteria, searching for any sign of the girl from the night before. She was starstruck. She had never experienced anything like that before, not even with Regan, her ex.

Images of that night kept occupying her thoughts every moment of her days. A week passed and the hope of bumping into her became a _need to discover the identity_ of that beautiful girl. She had to find out who she was or she would go crazy. Toni was thinking about her while she was sitting with her friends at lunch, when Martha joined them with someone right behind her.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late. This is Shelby, we have philosophy class together.”

“Hey y’all” the girl said and she had an oddly familiar voice.

They all greeted the new girl and invited her to have lunch together. Toni instead, looked at her in confusion. She had her hair in a ponytail and dressed all pink and white, with a smile on her face too big to actually be sincere. Toni didn’t like her, but she stayed silent and she continued to search for those beautiful green eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I've never written a fanfic before but this seems a good experiment! I'm not English so if there are any grammatical errors forgive me :) Also I don't know anything about american college so the story's University is just a mix of the american and european one. in the last part of the chapter there's a scene inspired on one similar of "How I met your mother". Tell me in the comments if you noticed :).  
> I'm planning on posting the next chapter very soon...Stay Tuned!
> 
> ps. Go listen to the song in the story, you won't regret it I promise ;)


	2. You need to calm down

“So Shelby, how long have you been here?” asked Fatin.

“Oh I moved here a month ago, I’m from Waco actually” She answered.

“You mean Waco as in Texas?” the girl, whose name she thought was Dot, said

“Yeah, the one and only” She joked, emphasizing her texan accent.

“No way! I’m from there too. How come we’ve never met before?” Dot exclaimed.

 _Because I doubt you would’ve wanted to be part of a strict christian community who has a cross so up their ass that they actually organize conversion therapy camps._ That was what Shelby really wanted to say, but she opted for: “Well the world is so big, isn’t it?”

Shelby was not really in the mood to explain to these girls how she ended up in Florida of all places. So before the others could answer her, she changed the topic. “So you’re Toni, right? Martha has told me so much about you!” She said looking at the brunette.

Toni seemed to be studying her, and that made Shelby internally nervous, so she smiled a little wider. This girl was strangely familiar, like they already knew each other somehow. But she put that thought aside.

“What exactly has Marty told you about me?” Toni questioned her, and it felt almost as if she was challenging her. 

“Oh, that you two met in primary school and have been inseparable ever since. And also that you are interested in the sports field, something related to basketball right?” She said, continuing to smile.

“Yeah, something like that.” The girl said with a strange tone Shelby didn’t really like. They made eye contact for just a few seconds and she could swear she had already seen her, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. She was about to answer when Martha spoke, changing again the topic as if wanting to end this awkward interaction: “Shelby did you go to last week’s party? It was fantastic!”

“Yes, I did. If we met before, we could have gone together!. It was pretty cool.” It has been way more than just ‘pretty cool’, that ball has been the only thing she could think about lately. But she wouldn’t share that.

They all ate lunch together and Shelby had to say: Martha’s friends were really nice to be around, and luckily they all seemed to like her. Well, most of them at least: after their initial conversation, that girl -Toni- seemed to pay her no mind, almost like she wasn’t even there. What was she expecting? They were strangers after all. And yet here she was, glancing every now and then at the girl, hoping she would look back, but nothing. Toni seemed to only be looking around them, as if she was in search of something, of _someone_. Shelby felt confused, this girl was all too familiar, but she seemed so distant. It was stupid, but she was so used to have others' attention that when someone didn’t give her any, it started to freak her out. Egocentric as fuck right? Maybe she should just stop thinking about it and enjoy the rest of her lunch with Martha and her friends. And so she did.

___________________

Martha dropped her off and invited her to go out again some time. “I’d love to,” she said, and she really meant it. Martha seemed a very sweet and caring person.

Shelby entered her dorm and there was none. Her roommate must have been out, so she had some time for herself. However, she spent the whole time on her bed, daydreaming about the mysterious girl from the party. The image of her passionate eyes was stuck in her head, occupying her every thought. Shelby remembered everything about that night, every kiss, every word they exchanged. But the thing that hit her the most was how that night she felt like herself more than ever before. It’s strange you know, to think she had felt more carefree with that girl, a stranger, than with any other person she knew. And now she wanted- no she _craved_ \- to feel that way again.

Why the hell didn’t she tell the brunette her name? She didn’t know what took over her that night, but the only thing she regretted was not removing that freaking mask from her face.Every day she hoped she would see her somewhere. _This is the day Shelby I feel It_ , she told herself every morning, but seven days had passed and still no trace of the brunette. Shelby was starting to get desperate: yesterday while she was in church, she even prayed about it. But not even the ‘Good Lord’ wanted to help her. After all it was her fault if she didn’t know her identity...she could at least give the girl her Instagram name! Shelby was beyond frustrated by the whole thing.

While she was deep in thought, her phone rang. She picked it up and it was Andrew. Of course he wouldn’t leave her alone and mind his own fucking business...such a hypocrite. Shelby was tempted to turn off the call but she knew he wouldn’t give up easily, so she answered:

“Andrew for the 10th time, stop contacting me, I’m done!”

“Shelbs please come home with me. I’m sorry if I acted like a jerk at that party...you know I love you!” He said, almost as if he really cared.

“Oh my God, I’ve had enough of your lame apologies, just leave me alone! I wanna live my own fucking life, am I allowed to do that?” She almost screamed.

“Stop this nonsense Shelby, you know you belong with me, in Texas. Your father said that, everyone in our community said that. Why can’t you see-

She hung up. Shelby was so done with her parents' bullshit, always trying to manipulate her and even asking Andrew to follow her in Florida to convince her to come back. Hopefully, he didn’t bring enough money to stay here for too much. Maybe a week or so and then he would go back to that shitty place he came from.

After a while, her roommate came home.“Hey” the girl greeted her “Hey, there you are... what’s up Leah?” She asked. Leah had a big smile on her face and she already knew why.

“Oh I was just with this girl I told you about, the one from the party, she’s cool.”

“ I see. So will you tell her you wanna bone her or will you keep pretendin’ that you don’t? '' Shelby said, winking at her.

Leah almost blushed and answered “Said the one crushing hard for someone you didn’t want to know the name of. You still have to explain to me that.”

“Shut up, it was stupid.” She told her and continued “Wanna go grab a pizza?”

“Sure.”

_______________________

They ended up in a diner near campus. Shelby was eating her pizza when she saw a flash of wavy brown hair too similar to the one she was looking for. She was about to have a heart attack but then she saw the face of the girl and it was just Toni, with Martha.

“Is everything ok?” Leah asked her, a bit concerned with Shelby’s suddenly panicked face.

“Yeah, I just thought I saw someone I knew but it wasn’t them.”

After a minute Shelby decided not to be rude and go greet Martha and her friend. They were talking animatedly and laughing about something. It was strange to see Toni smile so much when she spent the whole lunch with a grudge on her face and lost in her thoughts.

“Hey y’all!”

“Oh hi Shelby! It’s good to see you again” Martha greeted her, while the brunette next to her was eyeing her oddly.

“Two times in a day” Toni said ironically but then Martha gave her the ‘stop it’ look. What was wrong with this girl? Shelby started to think that maybe this girl had some problem with her.

“Do you want to join us?” Martha politely asked her.

“Oh thanks, but I’m actually here with a friend. She’s over there” Shelby pointed at Leah.

“Even better! We could all sit together if you want” Martha told her. How could someone so sweet be friends with someone like Toni? Shelby was about to turn down the offer (Leah was not really the ‘I-love-making-friends-in random situations’ kind of girl), but then she saw Toni's insufferable expression: she was clearly wishing Shelby would say no. She didn’t know what was the deal with this girl, but she was going to find out.

“Oh that would be fantastic! I’m gonna call Leah then.” She answered with the biggest smile she could make. They were all eating together, Shelby sitting on purpose in front of Toni.

“Leah, you’re Fatin’s friend right?” Martha asked the other girl.

“Yeah” Leah answered, a bit uncomfortable with the word ’friend’.

“You have no idea how much Fatin talks about you, it’s like I already know you,” Martha told her with excitement. That actually made Leah lighten up and they continued to talk.

“Isn’t it great to see our own friends become friends?” Shelby said to Toni, just to start a conversation.

But Toni almost rolled her eyes and cynically responded: “They are just talking like they are supposed to, given the situation. You don’t become friends with someone in a day”

At that moment the other two girls were laughing about something on Martha’s phone, not really listening to their conversation. Toni really seemed to have no chill, Shelby was starting to get annoyed. “Well, it would be nice to try at least.” She said with less excitement in her voice than before.

Toni, still eyeing her suspiciously said with total nonchalance: “I’m not really interested.” And then she went to the restroom, leaving Shelby there. What an asshole this girl was!. No way she was gonna let someone treat her like that, so she followed Toni to the restroom.

Fortunately, there was none in there. Toni was near the sink, washing her hands. “Do you have a problem?” The brunette asked her when she saw Shelby’s annoyed face directed at her. Her voice was deep and somehow familiar.

“I’m clearly not the one with it. Have I done somethin’ to offend you?” She said straightaway.

“No you did nothing wrong, but if we have a mutual friend it doesn’t mean we have to become besties, does it?” Toni told her, looking at her from the mirror on the sink.

“Ok but you could at least try not to be an asshole.” Shelby responded almost angrily. She didn’t understand why this girl disliked her so much. She didn’t even know her!

Toni then looked around, facing her directly. She eyed the necklace on Shelby’s neck and said: “You say your prayers with that mouth, princess?”

Shelby was really trying to be civil here, but her patience was coming to an end and when she got angry or nervous she didn’t really have much control on her own words: “And are you frustrated by your shitty life or something? I’m sure being always this rude to people is very bad for your health. I don’t give a shit about you anyway, but I like spending time with Martha, so if that means having to keep up with people like you I’ll be mature enough to at least do that.” She practically snapped.

Toni seemed to be a bit surprised by her abrupt response, but she came closer, invading her personal space “That’s exactly why I don’t like you. I know people like you Shelby, you want others to think you’re this perfect daddy’s girl, but under that mask, you are as bitchy as I am, if not worse. At least I don’t try to hide it” she paused and looked at the angry expression on the other girl's face, then continued “So please, don’t try to be all friendly with me, ‘cause like I said, I’m not interested”. And with that she exited the bathroom, leaving a stunned Shelby behind.

What the fuck had just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, ladies and gents, is the beginning of the angst!  
> No ok I'm kidding, it won't always be this angsty, but the confrontation between them is necessary for their story...you'll see ;)  
> I'll update again in the next few days, in the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this chapter if u want!
> 
> Nina sends you all the love <3.


	3. This is me trying

Toni was in the passenger seat in Martha’s car while her friend drove towards her home.

“So...what happened with Shelby?” Martha suddenly asked her.

“What? Nothing happened” Toni tried to play it cool, but she already knew Martha didn’t buy it...of course she didn’t, anyone could have sensed how tense Shelby and her had been with each other for the whole night.

“So all that staring and glaring was just an accident? Toni what did you do?” Martha insisted

“First of all, we certainly were not staring at each other. What the fuck Marty? And secondly, how can you tell it was something I have done and not her, huh?”

“Because I know how you act around people you don’t like. So just tell me the truth” she told her and sighed.

“I don’t trust her ok? It’s like she always wants you to think she’s perfect and you’re not, with all those fake smiles and sweet- talks. Perfect people don’t even exist, she’s clearly faking it.” Toni said with an exasperated tone.

“How can you tell so much about someone you barely know? Toni I know you hated those racist jerks back in Minnesota, I know you struggled, I was there with you, I experienced it with you. But Shelby is not like that, she’s my friend. I don’t even wanna know what happened, as long as you promise me you’ll give her a chance. Ok?”

Toni wanted to say no. She really wanted to. But she just couldn't, not when Martha was looking at her with so much hope in her eyes.So she just told her the truth:

“You know I love you right?”

“Mee too, girl” Martha smiled at her.

Sometimes she just couldn’t understand how her friend could always see the best in people and never the worst, like Toni did. It was better to expect the worst from people, this way you didn’t get attached, this way you didn’t get hurt when they disappointed you.Toni learnt it the hard way. At least she thought she did, but then she met the girl at that infamous party. That was probably the first time Toni wasn’t afraid to trust someone and that scared the shit out of her actually. How the fuck could she trust someone she didn’t even saw the face of? Maybe she was not mentally stable as she thought she was. Deep down she knew that maybe, she had been too rough with Shelby, and that _maybe_ , if she’d been so crazy to give her heart to a stranger, Toni could at least try to give someone like Shelby a chance.

That night, after Martha left, she thought about it and fell asleep, dreaming of green eyes staring into her.

_____________________

Another week went by and she noticed how Shelby started to actually bond with her friends and become part of their group, sometimes even her friend Leah joined them, making Fatin pine over her even harder. But Toni was still not totally convinced to give the blonde a chance. She was a bit confused: sometimes Shelby acted more like a normal person, but whenever someone asked her about her past life she seemed to tense up and put her ‘perfect girl’ mask on, never actually answering the question. And Toni still didn't like it. She didn’t really know what to do, so she just continued to ignore her.

She was also not in the best of moods: it turned out that studying for an astronomy degree while also being on the basketball team was very stressful. In addition, the blonde girl from the party was nowhere to be seen and Toni was starting to feel hopeless. She should just stop obsessing over it and find ways to distract herself with, and beers with her friends seemed a very good candidate. So she joined the others at their usual pub that night.

They were all already there, all of them except for Shelby, maybe she got tired of them and decided to ditch them. Whatever, Toni didn’t care.

“Earth to Toni. What the fuck girl?” Dot called her, snapping her fingers at her face.

“Yeah what” She answered nonchalantly.

“What’s up with you these days? You always seem to stare into the void thinking about who knows what, like those drug addicted dudes in films. You sure you’re not doing heroin or something behind our backs?” Fatin jokes, but she was a bit concerned for real and Toni knew it. Lately the only thing she could seem to do was lose herself in her thoughts.

“No everything’s ok, it’s just- it’s nothing” she answered shuffling with the bracelet on her wrist , that green pendant was the same shade as her eyes, Toni was so fucked up.

Fatin eyed the bracelet and spoke: “Mh, I see, so you still have the hots for the blondie from the party right?”

“You need to move on Toni, you can’t be stuck on someone you probably won’t see ever again” Rachel, being the cynical one, advised her.

“I know, I know guys it’s just...difficult, you know?” Toni answered with honesty,and they all seemed to understand her, she was so lucky to have friends like them.

After that, the mood lightened up. In that moment there was a competition going on: Martha and Dot made a bet on who would eat more chicken wings in a row. Yes it was disgusting, and yes, everyone knew them at the pub but they were having such a good time that none of them could care less. In the end Dot won and they all laughed and raised their drinks to her.

Toni was finally able to relax and distract herself from the rest of her week when Shelby entered the pub with Leah, and approached them. Despite all their problems, Toni had to be honest with herself, Shelby was hot. She was wearing just jeans with a top on it. But she was not blind, she could see how that jeans hugged her legs and her waist so perfectly. Toni just happened to be a lesbian and very much appreciate the female body, no big deal.

“Hey guys, what have we lost?”She said and the others greeted the two girls. And of course, like every other time they went out, Shelby sat next to her, just to fucking annoy Toni, how could she do that without even talking to the brunette? Ah, Toni hated it!

Two drinks and an hour later they were still at their table talking about anything and everything and, even though she could feel Shelby’s body vibrate next to hers every time the blonde laughed, the night was proceeding well enough.

“Ah shit it’s already 1am. Fuck, I have a biology test tomorrow.” Dot said and put her head in her hands, a bit drunk.

“Thank God I don’t have to go to work tomorrow after lessons, otherwise I would have collapsed.” Shelby said.

That actually catches Toni’s attention and for the first time, she talked to her in a normal way:

“Wait, you work?”

“I have to buy food somehow, right?” Shelby said jokingly, but seemed a bit surprised by Toni’s attention to her.

“Yeah right, I just thought you didn’t need to.” Was it rude to say it? Toni didn’t really know. Wait why was she even thinking if she had been rude all of a sudden? _Get a fucking grip Toni_.

“Well, I’m not just some delicate princess Toni.” Shelby answered and winked at her, and the brunette almost thought it was cute. She almost thought about it but she didn’t, of course. Anyway, it turned out there was more to Shelby than her looks.

Toni lied if she said she wasn’t confused with this girl. Looking better at her from this proximity, she couldn’t help but think she was hella familiar. Her eyes were a bright green, too much similar to the ones that haunted her every night. Was it possible that Shelby was- no it couldn’t be. Most of the time Shelby was the opposite of the carefree, mysterious girl from the party. But then sometimes she smiled that little and soft smile, like she was doing now,and that odd familiarity sense stuck with her. Maybe Toni was just going crazy and started to see that girl everywhere, even in people that were the living opposite of her, like how those characters in romantic books did. Ok Toni probably needed to stop reading 19th century’s novels, it was clearly fucking up with her sense of reality.

She was, again, lost in her thoughts and didn't notice how she had been staring at Shelby for the whole time, without even responding. Now it was a bit awkward so she just said: “Whatever” and went to the bar to grab a bottle of water to sober up a bit after all those beers. She still had to drive that night.

They left the pub, all ready to return home.However, it turned out that both Shelby and Leah came with a taxi and needed a lift. And of course Leah went with Fatin, occupying the last free seat in her car, and Shelby had to go with Toni. Why did it seem like, somehow, she could never avoid this girl?

They entered Toni’s car in silence, and she had to say, it was a bit awkward so she put some music on.

“Where to?” Toni asked, her playlist playing through the speakers.

“Oh just drop me off at campus. I live there, me and Leah share a dorm actually”. Shelby answered, her legs crossed and her eyes directed to the finestrin, not wanting to look at Toni.

She was a bit annoyed with how Shelby was acting, as if they didn’t have their first normal interaction just half an hour ago. Or maybe that was the problem? After years of anger issues and too many fights Toni knew she could be a bit...intense. But now that she was at college, away from all her bullies, her foster parents, her memories of Regan, she started to feel more at peace with herself and was trying to be better than that, better than her teen self.

So yes, Martha was probably right: maybe she was too quick to judge Shelby as a rich empty person, maybe her prejudices created a fog in her mind that she needed to erase. Just like Elizabeth and Darcy, in Pride and Prejudice. _Ok Toni you totally need to stop reading these freaking novels._

The only problem was that she didn’t know how to talk about it, she’s never been very good with words, so she remained silent.

They arrived at their campus and Toni stopped the car.

“So, thanks for the ride I guess.” Shelby said and looked at her as if she was expecting something, anything.

“Yeah, so see you around?” Toni responded, she didn’t know how to decipher Shelby’s stare.

“Uh ok then, bye Toni.” She told her, making an almost disappointed expression, and left the car. Toni felt something in the pit of her stomach and she abruptly exited her car and joined the blonde girl.

“Can I uh- is it ok if I walk you to your dorm? You know it’s not the best to wander alone around campus at this hour” Toni said, not having the slightest idea on what she was doing. She just felt like she needed to get everything she was thinking out, or her mind would explode.

“I don’t need protection Toni, but uhm yeah, you can if you want to.” Shelby told her,she seemed surprised, if not relieved.

They started walking through the college entrance and the silence fell again between them. However, before entering the dorms structure, Shelby stopped in her tracks and spoke: “ I need to say something to you. Okay?”

“Okay.” The brunette answered , a bit nervous.

“I’m so sorry for how I acted last week. It was not fair to say those things to you.I know not everyone needs to like me, the world doesn’t work that way. I just got angry because I couldn’t get why you didn’t. It’s stupid but when I get upset, I tend to lose control over my own words.” Shelby said, with a shyness she’s never shown before, avoiding eye contact with Toni for the whole time.

The brunette was a bit shocked to hear her say those words, but now she had finally the chance to extern her thoughts. “No Shelby, I get it. Control can be a fucking fantasy sometimes right?”

“Yeah it can.” Now Shelby was looking directly at Toni and a small smile was on her lips. But Toni was not finished, she still had to say something:

“I also need to apologize, I guess I’ve been a bit too rough with you. And you’re right by the way, being always rude is bad for your health.” She said the last part jokingly, to lighten the mood. But she meant it. A little laugh escaped from Shelby, and it was not the worst sound she’s ever heard (again, she could never admit it was cute).

“ I think we can try to be civil with one other, without having to actually ignore each other. So...Truce?” Toni said and extended her arm.

With a soft expression, Shelby was about to reciprocate the gesture and shake Toni’s hand, but then she saw something on the brunette’s arm that made her eyes go wide. Shelby remained still for a minute, then she looked up at Toni and she seemed to be having a heart attack. Toni was beyond confused in that moment, and then the blonde spoke:

“What’s on your wrist?”


End file.
